Trump suggests getting ‘ very rough’ with N. Korea
U. S. drops ‘ heaviest sanctions ever’ on ships
WASHINGTON – Hours after his administration slapped new sanctions on North Korea, President Trump on Friday threatened “very rough” action if economic pressure doesn’t force North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program.
“If the sanctions don’t work, we’ll have to go to phase two, and phase two may be a very rough thing,” Trump said during a joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
He did not specify what “phase two” might involve, but he warned: “It may be very, very unfortunate for the world.”
Trump and aides have not ruled out a military response to North Korea’s nuclear threats.
Earlier in the day, the Trump administration targeted ships and companies helping North Korea to evade international sanctions, the latest move in the U. S. effort to pressure dictator Kim Jong Un into giving up his nuclear weapons program.
The sanctions target 56 vessels, shipping companies and trade businesses that the United States accuses of assisting North Korea to evade sanctions.
Speaking to conservative activists outside Washington on Friday, Trump described the penalties as “the heaviest sanctions ever imposed” on a country.
“Through today’s actions, we are putting companies and countries across the world on notice,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. “Those who trade with North Korea do so at their own peril.”
The sanctions, he said, “shine a spotlight on the practices employed by the government of North Korea to falsify identification information on ships and illicit cargo.”
The Trump administration released photos of ships that had doctored registration numbers exchanging cargo with North Korean vessels. One photo, taken last December, shows a Panamanianflagged ship exchanging what could be oil with a North Korean ship masquerading as a Chinese vessel.
Mnuchin would not discuss whether the sanctions would be enforced by a full naval blockade of North Korea.